by Amanda Pizzolatto (Aurora Mandeville)
Word Count: 492
Rating: G (suitable for all audiences)
Summary: A fairytale about a young man’s redemption.
Once upon a time, in the valley city of Lorim, lived a handsome young man. He was quickly elected to the seat of prince of the town by the great King for his purity and kindness. Lorim grew in prosperity under the careful gaze of their excellent leader, but it wasn’t long before the young man fell away from the King’s ways, even avoiding the church. When word of his falling away reached the ears of the King, he was immediately summoned to the High Court. Upon hearing the young man’s tale and plea of forgiveness, the Queen intervened on his behalf and requested he be given a second chance. He was granted five more years, but too soon he fell among evil influences and returned to his sinful habits.
The King was none the happy to hear of this, for he saw great potential in the young man, and was resolved to strip the young man of the title of prince. The Queen intervened yet again, this time coming up with a plan to completely turn the young man’s life around and earn him the title of prince for life. With the approval of her son, she changed the young man into an ugly hunchback, the only way he could return to his natural form being that he regained his virtue and find a virtuous woman to marry. Now that he was ugly and deformed, many of those who influenced him for evil left him alone, no one even wanted to help him, except the priest. The priest hired him to help with caring for the church, and soon became his friend and mentor.
Under the guidance of the priest, the hunchback came to truly repent of his sins and learned how to overcome temptations. The hunchback was now on the right track, but who would ever come to love him? He would try to mingle with the parishioners after Mass, but most would shy away because of his ugliness. Eventually, one young lady stood out from the rest, the one he nicknamed Rose. She was as beautiful as a princess, and just as kind and graceful. The priest had known the young lady since her childhood, and greatly approved of the choice. He introduced the two, sparking a friendship that would eventually turn into a romance.
The hunchback no longer thought of being a prince; he just wanted to spend the rest of his days with his beloved Rose and their future children. But the King and the Queen arrived a few days before the wedding, returning the hunchback to his old form and status as he had done very well in his time as a hunchback. The prince married his beloved Rose, and with her help and the help of the priest, never fell back into his sinful habits, allowing the prince and the princess to live out the rest of their lives in joyous peace and virtuous prosperity.